The Pit bull breeds were doomed the minute folks started breeding them with mastiffs and lesser bulldogs in an attempt to breed the ultimate guard dog. Sometimes you end up with a dog with the tenacity and loyalty of a pit bull and the protective but lovable nature of a mastiff. More often, you end up with a dog with the ****ty nerves of a mastiff and the now misguided relentlessness of a driven pit bull. I've seen it in dozens of "bandogs" and it is a shame. You would be hard pressed to find a pure (blue ones are not pure nor are most over 60lbs, btw) American Pit Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Terrier or Staffordshire Bull Terrier with aggression toward humans. Animal aggression is a different story.
I've been around a bunch of Great Pyrenees and they are great dogs. There is a breeder and rescue in Lago Vista not too far from me.
They're probably controversial because people like you don't really understand the breed. You mention temperament but ignore actual temperament studies which time and time again show pits to have better temperament / less natural violent tendencies than many many other breeds. If you're too g to refer to natural temperament at least know what you're taking about. Your reference and much of the generalization - which I agree can be true - arent reflective of the breeds "natural" temperament.
I'd like to share me and my ceased boxer- mix Mollie's story about pits and all chained junk yard dogs Mollie was a white boxer mix with something lean like a whippet mix. Her mother was pure white boxer. Such a schweetie In her old age I moved into the heights just south of n main. That area has many mechanics shops and gated businesses with dogs chained to cars or left in yards with no refill of water on Sundays. These are supposed to be the most vicious dogs in the neighborhood No they aren't. They just want water and human companionship. A pack to be part of. That's their nature ... To pack One by one (it could take more than one try) me and mollie would introduce ourselves to these chained pits and German Shepard "guard dogs". It might take several weekends of tossing them beef jerky, and then we were ready for mollie to walk in to introduce herself in her so awesome disarming sharing of the butt smells. And I'd be right behind her to refill their empty August water dishes These guard dogs were putty in our hands. I even started pushing chain linked gates open to get at these water dishes on Sundays. As much as they were viciously barking, These dogs were scared off us because they were alone. When they realized we were coming to fill their water bowls in the heat of the summer every Sunday, they were putty These are junk yard guard dogs. My neighbors pits chained to a pole were nothing to that. You acknowledge them... They bark... You walk away for another day. Rinse and repeat and all chained pits will eventually trust you and let you walk all the way to them These gaudd dogs are workers. Often misused. They need our help They need their water dishes filled on Sundays At our peak, Mollie and I were refilling 12 water Bowls for chained junk yard dogs and mechanic shop dogs. No bites happened
In the methodology page it says it controls for breed (as well as training) in the aggression test. In other words, that study is meaningless in comparing across breeds for aggression.
lol OP, I have a Chihuahua at home and I agree that they are pretty wild for a little dog. It's always barking at anyone who walks near our house.
Great Danes are gentile giants. If they're on any "most dangerous" lists, I'm guessing it means "accidental danger". IE, having a 130-190lb dog step on your foot. They're mellow dogs, but with ANY dog breed, if you don't socialize them or mistreat them, they can be dangerous. I've seen some mean Great Danes (we work with the rescue in town, you see all sorts of crazy stuff). An angry dog that stands 6'-6'4" on their hind legs is a sight to see.
I picked the right one on that list. Rather easy but my family has a history with the breed. All dogs can be dangerous because they are essentially domesticated, apex predators and yes temperament varies among breeds.
Not only that but it's also more about what happens after the dog becomes aggressive ... sure a pit may have a better temperament score than a beagle , but you never see a news report about a beagle ripping some kids face off .
Ive owned a chow chow husky type and german shepherd. The chow chow was the most loyal dog ive ever had never bit me or even growled at me. And the husky type and german shepherd thus far have been the friendliest dogs ive ever had
I have a malamute. She's an extremely friendly, gentle dog... To people. She's not much of a fan of most other dogs.
No I didn't, I should have added that "most of their actions are a result of irresponsible owners". And as some pointed out irresponsible may not even the right word, just naive and inexperienced in dealing with them. They have aggressive tendencies that will stay there, but can be aggravated to a greater extent by their enviornment.
This is the most level headed discussion on this subject I've EVER seen online. What happened to us man.... :-D Any dog can potentially be dangerous. Every dog bites if the right circumstances arise. The difference is that some dogs can actually kill people, and that is when you have to start thinking about the risk vs reward of having them. My personal opinion is that the most dangerous breeds should be banned. They should be allowed to die off. There is no doubt that some breeds of dog not only snap, but they will sustain an attack on another dog, animal or person until such time as what they are attacking dies, or the dog itself is badly injured or killed. Here in Sydney this week a family let turned on a child and killed it. The child was at its grandmothers house and the dog got in the house and attacked the child. The grandmother fought it off until she collapsed. The mother of the child arrived to find the dog still mauling her dead child. The dog was a mastiff BTW. My feeling is, I'm willing to give up the right to have these extremely dangerous dogs around if it means even stopping one child from being viciously killed.
So far, in 2013, all reported child fatalities as a result of dog attack were caused by - pitbull http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatal_dog_attacks_in_the_United_States#Fatalities_reported_in_2013
